Answer in brief
CVE-2021-47517 records a High severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in ethtool: do not perform operations on net devices being unregistered. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 7.8. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Product | Affected versions | Fixed versions |
|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=041b1c5d4a53e97fc9e029ae32469552ca12cb9b <7c26da3be1e9843a15b5318f90db8a564479d2ac || >=041b1c5d4a53e97fc9e029ae32469552ca12cb9b <cfd719f04267108f5f5bf802b9d7de69e99a99f9 || >=041b1c5d4a53e97fc9e029ae32469552ca12cb9b <dde91ccfa25fd58f64c397d91b81a4b393100ffa | 7c26da3be1e9843a15b5318f90db8a564479d2ac, cfd719f04267108f5f5bf802b9d7de69e99a99f9, dde91ccfa25fd58f64c397d91b81a4b393100ffa |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 5.6 | Not reported |
Published upstream
May 24, 2024
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Aug 5, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Aug 4, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: do not perform operations on net devices being unregistered There is a short period between a net device starts to be unregistered and when it is actually gone. In that time frame ethtool operations could still be performed, which might end up in unwanted or undefined behaviours[1]. Do not allow ethtool operations after a net device starts its unregistration. This patch targets the netlink part as the ioctl one isn't affected: the reference to the net device is taken and the operation is executed within an rtnl lock section and the net device won't be found after unregister. [1] For example adding Tx queues after unregister ends up in NULL pointer exceptions and UaFs, such as: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in kobject_get+0x14/0x90 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88801961248c by task ethtool/755 CPU: 0 PID: 755 Comm: ethtool Not tainted 5.15.0-rc6+ #778 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-4.fc34 04/014 Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x57/0x72 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x1f/0x140 kasan_report.cold+0x7f/0x11b kobject_get+0x14/0x90 kobject_add_internal+0x3d1/0x450 kobject_init_and_add+0xba/0xf0 netdev_queue_update_kobjects+0xcf/0x200 netif_set_real_num_tx_queues+0xb4/0x310 veth_set_channels+0x1c3/0x550 ethnl_set_channels+0x524/0x610
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.